Railway car truck



Oct. 31, 1961 Filed June 23, 1958 A. F. SEELIG, JR 3,006,290

RAILWAY CAR TRUCK 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Q a; '5 w 9 f Q w m 4 2% INVENTOR. Qld & gil- Oct. 31, 1961 A. F. SEELIG, JR 3,006,290

RAILWAY CAR TRUCK Filed June 23, 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 L9 .2. L J00 i2 8Q 98 INVENTOR.

a 02?! 2 BY Lea. m 0 12 U United States Jersey Filed June 23, 1958, Ser. No. 743,928 Claims. (Cl. 105197) My invention relates to railway car trucks and more particularly to a novel railway car truck having a snubbing arrangement incorporated therein.

An object of my invention is to provide a railway car truck with a built-in friction system which provides a substantially constant frictional force for controlling vertical movements of the truck bolster relative to the side frame of the truck.

Another object of my invention is to provide a railway car truck comprising a bolster having a depressed center section which has an upper surface disposed in substantially horizontal alignment with snubbing devices which engage the ends of the bolster.

A still further object of my invention is to provide a bolster resiliently mounted at its ends on a related side frame with the bolster center bearing surface being disposed substantially coplanar with friction shoes which engage the ends of the bolster with the result that bolster rotation about its longitudinal axis is substantially limited when impact forces are exerted on the bolster during starting, stopping or coupling of related railway car bodies.

A still further object of my invention is to provide a novel snubbed railway car truck having a bolster resiliently mounted at its ends on the side frames of the truck and having side bearings mounted on the bolster in vertical alignment with the side frame longitudinal vertical centerplanes, in order to substantially reduce bending moments which have been found to occur on bolsters having associated side bearings disposed in the conventional location, which is generally inboardly of the planes of the related side frames.

Other objects and advantages of my invention will become apparent from the following description and drawings, wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a fragmentary side elevational view of a snubbed railway car truck embodying the invention, with portions thereof being broken away to more adequately show the cooperation of the associated truck parts;

FIGURE 2 is a fragmentary top plan view of the structure shown in FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a sectional view taken along the line 33 of FIGURE 1, and

FIGURE 4 is a sectional view taken along line 44 of FIGURE 1.

Certain structural details have been omitted from various views where they are shown more clearly in other views.

Referring now to the drawings, there is shown a railway car truck comprising a pair of wheel and axle assemblies 12, each assembly having an axle '14 with a wheel 16 attached thereto. Only two wheel and axle assemblies are shown but it should be noted that the invention may be incorporated on a truck having any number of wheel and axle assemblies. The axle 14 has each end received a rigid type roller bearing housing 18. A pair of side frames 20 (only one of which is shown) may be operatively carried by corresponding opposite ends of said wheel and axle assemblies. Each side frame 20 preferably includes an intermediate box-shaped section 22 extending longitudinally of the truck and comprising inboard and outboard side walls 23 and 23a, respectively, integrally interconnected by a top wall 24 and a bottom wall 25. Side frame 20 may include end sections 26 preferably formed integrally with the intermediate section 22, each end section 26 having an opening 27 within which is received the related roller bearing housing 18. At the sides of opening 27 the side frame presents a pair of shoulders 28 (FIGURE 1) which abuttably engage and support a wedge assembly 29 comprising a resilient rubber element 30 having an upper substantially semispherical shaped surface adapted to complementally engage the related end section 26 between inboard and outboard flanges 31 and 32, (FIGURES 2 and 4) respectively. The element 30 is retained in its operative position by the shoulders 28 and flanges 3-1 and 32. The wedge assembly 29 may also comprise a casting 33 preferably bonded to element 30. Casting 33 presents a lower surface conforming to and mating with the upper surface of the related roller bearing housing 18. From the foregoing, it is readily seen that wedge assembly 2? permits limited longitudinal and lateral movement of the side frame 20 relative to the wheel and axle assemblies 12.

The wedge assembly 29 may be assembled between end section 26 and its related roller bearing housing 18 by inserting it into opening 27, raising side frame 20 a sufficient distance to permit rotatable positioning of wedge assembly 29 above the upper surface of the housing 18, positioning wedge assembly 29 between flanges 3i and 32 and shoulders 28 and then lowering side frame 20 until wedge assembly 29 is seated on the upper surface of the housing 18.

The side frame 20 may have secured to the top wall 2 a pair of spaced upwardly extending side frame column members 34 (best seen in FIGURE 1) with each member 34 forming a friction shoe pocket 36 having an inclined wall 38 extending upwardly toward the transverse vertical center plane of the truck. As is readily seen, column members 34 and top wall 24 define therebetween a bolster opening 37 which is open at the top as the members 34 are free from connection with each other at their upper ends to permit entrance of an associated bolster 50. Each pocket 36 comprises inboard and outboard walls 40 and 42, FIGURE 3, respectively, integrally connected to inclined walls 38. A snubbing device 43 comprising a wedge like friction shoe or block 44 is retained in pocket 36 by walls 38, 40 and 42 and may comprise a rearwardly inclined surface 46 engaging wall 38 and a preferably vertical friction surface 43 engaging a friction surface 4-9 presented by a preferably unit cast box-shaped end of bolster 50. The shoe 44' may be normally spaced from walls 40 and 4-2 and may have a horizontal bottom wall 52 disposed above top wall 24 of the intermediate section 22. Walls 24 and 52 may be engaged by a vertically disposed preferably helical coil spring 54 which maintains the shoe 44 in continuous frictional engagement with the friction surface 49 of bolster 50 and wall 38 of side frame 20.

The shoe 44 may have an opening 56 disposed for horizontal alignment when the shoe is in a certain position with openings 58 located in inboard and outboard walls 40 and 42 for reception of a pin or locking means (not shown) to lock the shoe 44 within the 'pocket 36 and away from bolster 50 during assembly and disassembly of the bolster 50 and side frame 20.

It should be presently noted that although the present embodiment discloses a pair of friction shoes 44 frictionally engaging bolster 50, only one shoe need be utilized wherein said one shoe may engage one side of a related bolster end and a wear insert may be operatively carried by the frame and may engage the opposite side of the bolster. Wear plates, if desired, may be secured to the bolster and side frame to engage the friction shoes in 3 order to eliminate wear on the bolster and side frame by the friction shoes.

The end of the bolster 50 (as best seen in FIGURE 3) may comprise a pair of side wallstl integrally intercon: nected by a top wall 62 and a bottom wall 64. The por: tion of each wall 6 which is disposed inwardly of and adjacent to shoe 44 may have an aperture or recess 66 extending from top wall 62 to bottom wall 64 and may have said surface 49 therein. The aperture 66 may receive the shoe 44 to releasably interlock bolster 50 and side frame 2%) in order to limit longitudinal movement of the bolster 50. To limit vertical movement of the bolster 50 relative to the related side frame, a retaining lug 68 may be integrally secured to the bottom of aperture 66 with lug 68 being disposed under and spaced from the related shoe 44 and being engageable with the latter. The disposition of the lug 68 permits limited vertical movement of the bolster 50 while preventing accidental removal of the bolster 50 from the side frame 2% through the upper ends of members 34. From the foregoing, it is readily seen that the shoes 44 are the sole means interlocking the bolster 50 and side frame 24).

The end of the bolster 50 may have attached thereto a bolster support bracket 76 having a load support spring seat 72 on the bracket underside for engagement with the upper ends of a pair of coil spring units 74 disposed on opposite sides of the transverse vertical center plane of the truck, and located outboardly of the frame 20. Each unit 74 may comprise an inner coil spring 7% disposed concentric with an outer coil spring 78. Spring units 74 may be supported at their lower ends by a spring ledge 81} formed integrally with side frame 20 outboardly thereof. The ledge 80 may have a spring seat 82 disposed on the upper surface thereof and reinforcing ribs 84 may integrally interconnect side beam 2%) and the under side of ledge 80. Retaining flanges 85 may be secured to the outer perimeter of ledge 84 in order to surround the lower ends of the spring units 74- and thus aid in retaining the latter.

A pair of coil spring units 88, similar to units 74, may be disposed inboardly of side frame 29 and arranged in alignment with respective units 74 in a direction extending transversely of the truck. The units 88 may have their upper ends engaging a spring seat 90 disposed on the underside of the bolster d and may also have their lower ends supported by a ledge 92 having a spring seat 94 on the upper surface thereof. A retaining flange 96 may be secured to the outer perimeter of ledge 92 in order to surround the lower ends of units 88 and thus aid in retaining the latter. Reinforcing ribs 98 may integrally interconnect side beam 29 and the underside of ledge 92.

As has been noted heretofore, the wedge 29 permits limited flexibility between the side frame 26) and the wheel and axle assembly. Consequently, it is readily seen that the arrangement of the spring units 74 and 88 vertically stabilize the side frame 20 under normal operating conditions.

The bolster 50 may comprise a depressed center section 190 having an upper center bearing plate surface ltll. As will be readily seen, upper surface 101 may be disposed in the horizontal plane of the friction shoes 44. Such an arrangement of structure tends to reduce and substantially eliminate the torque or turning forces which are exerted on the bolster by an associated car body (not shown), at times of impact during starting, stopping or coupling of cars. These undesired torque forces tend to urge rotation of the bolster about its longitudinal axis, thus resulting in a highly undesirable operating condition.

Disposed vertically above the frame 29 and between the spring units74 and 88 may be a bolster side bearing 102 engageable with a body side bearing 103 secured to a car body (not shown). As is Well known to those skilled in the art, side bearings are generally carried by conventional bolsters inboardly of the bolster load supporting springs. The conventional arrangement of side bearings introduces bending moments on the bolster by a car body (not shown) when the body side bearing engages the bolster side bearing. Consequently, the bolster must be designed to be strong enough not only to support the car body but it must also be designed to be strong enough to counteract the aforementioned bending moments. The disposition of the side bearing 102 tends to reduce and substantially eliminate the bending moments exerted on the bolster 50 by the side bearing 103 of the car body (not shown) with the advantage that lighter weight truck and body bolsters maybe designed and utilized.

It should be additionally noted that even though an even number of spring units are shown to be used in the embodiment disclosed, an uneven number of units may be utilized to produce an inclined beam or swing hanger effect on the side frame 20, if desired, when the truck is to be operated under certain predetermined abnormal conditions.

The invention is not to be understood as restricted to the exact embodiment of the device as shown, as various and other forms of the device will, of course, be apparent to those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the claims.

I claim:

1. In a railway car truck, the combination of: a side frame having vertically extending members horizontally spaced from each other at their upper ends and defining an opening therebetween, one of said members having a wedge wall and horizontally spaced side walls connected to the wedge wall and defining therewith a pocket, a bolster spring-supported by the side frame in the opening and vertically movable between said members, said bolster having a recess aligned with and facing said pocket and defined by a pair of mutually facing substantially vertical lugs and by a third lug extending between and interconnecting said pair of lugs, a friction surface on said bolster in said recess, a friction shoe having a wedge Wall, a friction wall, and spaced side walls, said shoe being partly disposed in the pocket with the wedge walls engaged and the side Walls being engageable respectively, to laterally constrain said shoe relative to the side frame, said shoe also being partly disposed in said recess with said friction wall and friction surface frictionally engaged and said shoe side walls being engageable, respectively, with said substantially vertical lugs to limit lateral movement of the bolster relative to the shoe, said friction shoe also being'spaced from and engageable along its lower edge with the third lug to limit upward movement of the bolster, and spring means disposed between said side frame and friction shoe for actuation thereof.

2. In a railway car, a railway car truck comprising a frame with spaced upstanding members, a bolster member having an end spring-supported by the frame between the upstanding members, friction means between the bolster member and at least one of the upstanding members foridamping vertical oscillations of the bolster member, said friction means comprising friction shoe means frictionally engaged with areas of said bolster member and said one member, and said friction means comprising spring means for actuating said friction shoe means, and a centerplate on said bolster member defined by a substantially horizontal plane passing through said areas, said centerplate being formed and arranged to support a car body, whereby upon sudden stopping of the car, inertia of the car body acting on said bolster member at said centerplate does not tend to rotate the bolster member about its longitudinal axis. 7

3. In a railway car, a railway car truck comprising a frame with spaced upstanding members, a bolster structure having an end between said members, a plurality of springs supported at their lower ends by said frame, said springs at their upper ends supporting said bolster structure, friction means for damping vertical oscillations of said bolster structure, said friction means comprising friction shoe means engaging horizontally aligned areas of the bolster structure and one of said members, and said friction means comprising spring means for actuating said friction shoe means into engagement with said areas, a lug on said bolster structure engageable with said friction shoe means to limit upward movement of the bolster structure relative to said frame, said bolster structure having a centerplate to support a car body, and said centerplate defining a horizontal plane intersecting said areas, whereby upon sudden stopping of the car, inertia of the car body acting on said centerplate does not tend to rotate the bolster structure about its longitudinal axis.

4. A railway car according to claim 3 wherein the area of said one member slopes upwardly toward the area of the bolster structure, and wherein the spring means are supported by the frame.

5. A railway car truck according to claim 3 wherein the areas are on both members and on opposite sides of the bolster structure, and wherein the areas on said members slope upwardly toward the areas on the bolster structure, and wherein the spring means are supported by the frame.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,241,638 Laughlin et al Oct. 2, 1917 2,287,575 Sesenich June 23, 1942 2,386,577 Statler et al Oct. 9, 1945 2,398,394 Piron Apr. 16, 1946 2,410,402 Ledwinka Nov. 5, 1946 2,425,822 Olander Aug. 19, 1947 2,571,519 Barber Oct. 16, 1951 2,655,117 Travilla Oct. 13, 1953 2,723,630 Settles Nov. 15, 1955 2,736,271 Volpe Feb. 28, 1956 2,737,905 Holland et a1 Mar. 13, 1956 2,740,360 Janeway Apr. 3, 1956 2,780,179 Long Feb. 5, 1957 2,831,440 Lich 1 Apr. 22, 1958 

